The Preuss charter expires on June 30 2026, and as a result the school will be petitioning the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) for a renewal in order to stay independent. After being submitted to our authorizer, the SDUSD board, they determine whether a contract should be agreed, and Preuss will receive authorization for a 5-year-term.

Preuss was first established as a charter school in 1999, and under the administration of UC San Diego, the charter and the school’s independence has been maintained. However, to keep up this maintenance, the school must periodically renew the charter granted by the SDUSD.

“The charter renewal lets us stay independent from San Diego Unified, and that means we can operate in our own way without certain restrictions,” Dr. Matthew Steitz explained.

A charter school is a public school that is able to operate independently under its own, or another group’s authority. This is unlike public schools that are dependent on other school systems. As a result, the charter school would need to get its own funding and ensure positive performance in students.

“We get our funding from UCSD and other donors, and we’re able to operate independently as a school in San Diego,” said Steitz .

Although the most important part of the process of the charter renewal is to petition the SDUSD board of directors, student voices are also essential to the process. Preuss students have been asked to submit their perspectives on our school, with the feedback being used to further push the request of the charter.

Scholars are able to submit their opinions on an anonymous survey with just five questions. Each question can be answered in a variety of ways depending on how a student may want to convey their thoughts, like through audio recording, video recording, or text response.

“Through the survey, we will be able to use authentic Preuss scholar voices for our petition, and that helps to further push the point of our cause as a charter school,” Steitz expressed.

Preuss has seen many successes over the years as a school, and the charter has been an essential part of that success. Student requirements and achievements have always been a priority and the school is not looking to change that this year.

Preuss admin and teachers will periodically be holding meetings to further discuss the specifics of the petition students.